Who could be the next Panthers GM?

From Litter Box Cats:

Sexton is an automatic candidate due to his knowledge of the club at present and the needs of the scouting staff along with attention that must be paid to the affiliates in Rochester and Estero (Everblades).

No names have been publicly mentioned by the team from outside of the organization, but one intriguing individual is Jay Feaster, the ex-Lightning GM who was on the losing end of a power struggle in Tampa Bay one year ago when new ownership moved in.

I’d be skeptical leaving Sexton (whose past managerial successes demand quotes around them) in place, as he was hand-picked by JM and undoubtedly shares in his defensive mentality (on the ice, that is).

Read more about the Martin move from LBC here.  (I highly recommend this blog for Panthers content)

Meanwhile, George Richards of the Miami Herald asks a very good question: What has Jacques Martin been doing the past few weeks?

So, what, exactly, has JM been doing lately? Well, he hasn’t been involved in many negotiations as far as I can tell. Just got off the phone with David Booth. He says there has been no contact with his agent and JM of late. Craig Anderson told me the same thing last week in Indy. Jay Bouwmeester’s agent told Barry Jackson of El Herald that he hadn’t heard from JM either.

Read more reaction from all parties regarding the Martin move here.

It is important to note that Martin was released from his contract, so the Cats don’t get any compensation but also don’t have to pay any money to him either.  So, that makes me wonder whether the team has some money to spend on a GM or if they may go on the cheap because of a possible sale. 

Anyhow, in terms of candidates that have been rumored, I personally like Jay Feaster as a GM and think his work in Tampa was better than many give him credit for.  In fact, I discussed as much in the comments sections of Litter Box Cats.  He certainly would not be a bad place to start. 

As for Sexton, he has spent much time in the Panthers organization and while his time in Ottawa wasn’t a success, that was a while back and the team was in the beginning stages of its development.  His knowledge of the team would certainly give him an inside advantage and Martin thought highly enough of him to keep him in his inner circle.

There are many other possible GM candidates, especially if the team wants to go young–as the Wild search indicated.  However, this isn’t the Wild job, so I’m not so sure there will be as many people coveting this job.  That said, there are some nice pieces in place on the ice and a good head coach behind the bench, so there are worse places to run a team.  That, and the sun sure doesn’t hurt either.